The Russian regime under President Vladimir Putin has embarked on a coherent long-term strategy to regain its influence over former satellites and to limit Western penetration in key parts of this region. Moscow is intent on steadily rebuilding Russia as a major power on the Eurasian stage and will use its neighbors as a springboard for expanding its dominance. In this first systematic analysis detailing Russia's post-Cold War imperialism, Bugajski challenges the contemporary equivalent of Cold War appeasement, which views Russia as a benign and pragmatic power that seeks cooperation and integration with the West.
Is Anvil Kutlas a spy or an innocuous American policy analyst whose mistaken identity sweeps him into the whirlwind of a collapsing Yugoslavia? In trying to resolve the mysterious disappearance of his colleague in Kosova, Anvil enters a world of weapons smugglers, nationalist militias, foreign agents, special operatives, megalomaniacs, sadists, and criminals. And lurking behind the political conflicts and manufactured ethnic violence that tear Yugoslavia apart are larger powers preparing to take advantage of the chaos. Anvil becomes entangled in a web of conspiracies that lead him into hair-raising adventures in every conflict zone in a disintegrating Yugoslavia. He witnesses ethnic expulsions in Croatia and Bosnia, a growing insurgency in Kosova, and political assassination in Macedonia. In seeking to free his colleague, Anvil receives help from the most unlikely sources that lead him to a secluded monastery in Montenegro. His immersion in the world of deadly politics enables him to uncover the ultimate conspiracy.
Russia's invasion, occupation, and partition of Georgia in August 2008 initially sent shock waves throughout Europe and NATO and appeared to signal a new confrontational phase in Moscow s relations with the West. This volume places the conflict in the context of Russia's broader objectives, its internal weaknesses, the limitations of EU and NATO policies, and America s security priorities. First, the Georgian conflict underscored Moscow's determination to reclaim an extensive zone of dominance corresponding with the former Soviet territories. Second, it displayed a shrewd calculation by the Kremlin about the fractured and ineffective Western response, and Moscow continues to test the Obama administration's rapprochement in pursuing its expansionist ambitions. Third, the 2008 conflict had a lasting impact on the Central-East European and post-Soviet states most exposed to pressures from Moscow. While the former demanded more tangible security guarantees from NATO, the latter either sought accommodation with Russia or intensified their protective strategies. Additionally, beneath the veneer of success, the conduct of the war, the economic recession, escalating separatist sentiments, and faltering attempts by Moscow to make the country more globally competitive revealed Russia's long-term weaknesses in the midst of its attempted neo-imperial restoration. The study concludes with succinct recommendations on how the transatlantic alliance can more effectively handle Russian ambitions and prepare itself to deter or manage future crises
In order to understand the objectives of America's new allies and help develop effective U.S. policies, this study charts the evolution of relations between Washington and the CEE states in the context of EU and NATO enlargement. It argues that Washington has an opportunity to strengthen its ties with the CEE states and rebuild productive problem-solving relations with the EU and the NATO alliance as a whole, but the window of opportunity may be closing."--BOOK JACKET.
Selected by Choice as an Outstanding Academic Book, this notable work has now been thoroughly updated and revised to investigate the sources, manifestations, and implications of interstate and interethnic instability in post-Communist eastern Europe. Janusz Bugajski illuminates long-suppressed historical antagonisms, traces the key contemporary conflicts, and considers evolving forms of regional cooperation and European integration. Pinpointing the new actors and factors shaping eastern European developments, the author considers likely scenarios of future unrest, particularly in light of the Yugoslav wars and persistent tensions throughout the Balkans.
This study consists of a comprehensive examination of Communist policies toward rural populations and indigenous societies in a cross-section of developing Third World states. It explores the universal threads and national adaptations of Communist or Marxist-Leninist theory and praxis.
This book provides a comparative analysis of oppositionist trends in the Soviet satellite states of contemporary Eastern Europe. It evaluates the extent and objectives of independent social activism in these countries, and explores both the causes and effects of public dissent.
This guide charts national histories and policies, relevant statistics and chronologies, and the identities, programmes, and activities of the full spectrum of ethnically-based parties and organizations in Central and Eastern Europe.
Moscow's overarching ambition toward Europe is to expand the "Eurasian space" in which Russia is the dominant political player. For Moscow, this means transforming Europe into an appendage of the Russian sphere of influence and debilitating Euro-Atlanticism by undercutting Europe's connections with the United States. The author explains that the most effective and realistic long-term Western strategy toward Russia needs to combine "practical engagement" with "strategic assertiveness.""--BOOK JACKET.
This comprehensive one-volume guide to politics in Eastern Europe provides a wealth of information on the region. The author outlines the emergent political spectrum of parties and coalitions, which are described in the 20 country chapters that make up the heart of the book. Parties are classified across the political spectrum and discussed individually in terms of programs, leadership, and political activity. Tables at the end of each country chapter present basic political data and electoral results. A concluding essay evaluates democratic development in the region.
In the postD9/11 era of heightened security awareness, conflicting strategies for containing and combating security risks have strained relations between the United States and the European Union despite common goals. Atlantic Bridges argues that the U.S. must resist the temptation to focus its diplomatic efforts on bilateral agreements with those European countries in closest alignment to it, and instead use its dependable and durable partners among the central and eastern European states to develop more predictable and productive relations with the EU for the sake of long-term stability.
This book provides a comparative analysis of oppositionist trends in the Soviet satellite states of contemporary Eastern Europe. It evaluates the extent and objectives of independent social activism in these countries, and explores both the causes and effects of public dissent.
For the first time in its modern history the entire Balkan Peninsula has the opportunity to co-exist under one security and developmental umbrella combining NATO and the European Union (EU). Unfortunately, European and American leaders have been unable to complete such a unique historic vision, while the progress of several Western Balkan countries continues to be undermined by a plethora of political, social, economic, ethnic, and national disputes. This monograph focuses on the escalating security challenges facing the Western Balkans, assesses the shortcomings and deficiencies of current international engagement, considers future prospects for U.S. military involvement, and offers recommendations for curtailing conflict and promoting the region¿s international institutional integration. In particular, to prevent the future deployment of U.S. forces, more comprehensive strategic intelligence gathering is needed, together with the identification of local and foreign political actors promoting instability, early warning signals regarding impending conflicts, and a commitment to incorporate all countries in the region into NATO and the EU.
Russia's invasion, occupation, and partition of Georgia in August 2008 initially sent shock waves throughout Europe and NATO and appeared to signal a new confrontational phase in Moscow s relations with the West. This volume places the conflict in the context of Russia's broader objectives, its internal weaknesses, the limitations of EU and NATO policies, and America s security priorities. First, the Georgian conflict underscored Moscow's determination to reclaim an extensive zone of dominance corresponding with the former Soviet territories. Second, it displayed a shrewd calculation by the Kremlin about the fractured and ineffective Western response, and Moscow continues to test the Obama administration's rapprochement in pursuing its expansionist ambitions. Third, the 2008 conflict had a lasting impact on the Central-East European and post-Soviet states most exposed to pressures from Moscow. While the former demanded more tangible security guarantees from NATO, the latter either sought accommodation with Russia or intensified their protective strategies. Additionally, beneath the veneer of success, the conduct of the war, the economic recession, escalating separatist sentiments, and faltering attempts by Moscow to make the country more globally competitive revealed Russia's long-term weaknesses in the midst of its attempted neo-imperial restoration. The study concludes with succinct recommendations on how the transatlantic alliance can more effectively handle Russian ambitions and prepare itself to deter or manage future crises
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